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Leading off the eighth inning yesterday, Johnny Damon thought he saw a pitch that would tie the game. Instead, the pitch from Casey Janssen extended Damon’s hitless streak to 17 at-bats.

“Today I had a pitch that last year probably would’ve been in the upper deck,” Damon said of his flyout to right. “I was just a tad too late on it.

“I’m not sure how hard the pitch was . . . [maybe] 90 miles per hour. Normally, that ball is very easy to handle.”

Damon’s slump is increasingly harder to handle as the Yankees desperately try to claw back into the playoff picture. His 0-for-3 game was glaring in the 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays, even if he scored a run after a first-inning walk. He reached on an error in the fifth and struck out in the third. It was Damon’s fifth straight hitless game and dropped his average to .233.

Joe Torre is getting constant questions about giving Damon a breather or moving him down the lineup, although the manager has resisted up to now.

“We’ll see if there’s anything we can do to help him,” Torre said. “Certainly, he knows what he’s doing at the top of the order. We want to do what’s gonna help him break out of it.”

Damon doesn’t want a lineup demotion and touted his leadoff credentials against the best in the majors. Derek Jeter tried to offer some encouraging words, too.

“You can’t change what happened so far,” Jeter said. “We have been winning, so it has been easier to swallow.

“He has been scuffling, but he has been fine.”

According to hitting coach Kevin Long, the irony is Damon is working “harder than I’ve ever seen him work.” The outfielder/designated hitter is taking extra batting practice before every game.

“I just think he’s missing the results,” Long said. “And when you’re missing the results, it weighs on you. It weighs on your confidence.

“There are some boobirds out. I’m sure he hears those. He might not say he does. You can only feel for somebody in that situation.”

Damon said he no longer is hampered by nagging injuries and is trying to maintain a positive outlook. The 33-year-old and Long point to his .337 on-base percentage as a positive sign.

“I’m definitely better than what I’m showing,” Damon said. “That’s the only reason why I can stay sane, because I am getting some walks.”